Mining machine



PEDULLA MINING MACHINE Filed July 18, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet l HUMM J mm L Aug. 9, 1927. N. PEDULLA 1,638,361

MINING MACHINE Filed July 18, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 .2 .9. HIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIHHH I 6'9 mnllii-iill'uili umr a ed by h -p ver- Patented Aug. '9, 1927.

v of Figure 1.

UNITED STA NIGOLA PEDUZIILA, OF MEYERSDALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

MINING MACHINE.

Application filed. July 18,

This invention relates to mining machines for cutting kerfs in a wall of coal or other mineral deposits so that blocks of said mineral may be broken out between said .kerfs." One objectof the invention is to provide improved and simplified means for simultaneously actuating a plurality of boring tools for cuttin a continuous kerf from a single driven shaft. Another object is to provide for adjusting the boring tools; so as to adapt them for cutting either-hard or soft coal. A further object is to provide improved means for advancing the machine, as the cutting proceeds, without interfering with the proper actuation of the boring tools. Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

' The invention will be first hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which constitute part of this specification and then more specifically defined in the claims at the end of the description.

In the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters are used to designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views: I

Figure 1 is a plan view of a mining machine constructed substantially in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a detailed view of one of the four point cutters or tools, the cutterhead being shown in section.

Figure 3 is a similar detailed view of one of the two point cutters or boring tools.

Figure 4; is an end view of thefour point cutters shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5-is a section on the line VV of Figural. I

Figurefi is a section on the line VI VI Figure 7 's a section'on the line VII VII ofFigure 1. v

Figure 8 is a detailed View of one of the chain-tighteners shown in Figure 5.

Figure 9 is a'plan view of amodifi'ed form of m ning machine designed to be'oper- Figure 10 is a side elevation of the machine illustrated in Figurev 9 with part of the frame broken away to disclose the oper ating gearing, and Y Figure llis a plan view of the gear box of the machine illustrated in Figure 9 with its cover removed to show the arrangement a and" is journaled in 1923. Serial No. 652,342.

of the gears and sprocket driving mechanism. v

Referring first to Figures 1 to-S, inclusive, the mining machine illustrated thereby is designed to be driven by an electriomotor 1 which is suitably mounted as by brackets 2, on across-bar 3 of the frame of the machine. Said frame comprises longitudinal members 4, preferably of tubular form, and a handle bar 5 secured in any suitable manner to the ends of said members 4. At the ends of the handle bar 5' looped handles 6 are vprovidechthe same being bent or turned rcarwardly'and at slightly diverging angles, as clearly shown in Figure 1. It will be understood that the operator may grasp the handles 6 for propelling the machine, and that he may also press against the handle bar 5 if desired for the same purpose. Footpieces 7 are secured to the side member 4 so hat the machine may also be advanced by the operator with his feet against said pieces when in a sitting position.

The front ends of the side members 4 of the frame are suitably secured to brackets 8 which are bolted at 9 to the rear wall 10 of the casing orgear box 11 of the machine. The main driving shaft 12, which is suitably connected at 13 to the armature'shaft 14 of the motor 1, extends through the central portion of the casing or gear box 11 ball bearings 15 and 16 mounted respectively in the front wall 17 and rear wall 10 of said casing. Auxiliary shafts 18, of which six are shown, are similarly mounted at intervals in the casing 11, being spaced equal distances apart, three at one side and three at the other side of the main shaft 12. All of said auxiliary shafts are arranged in the same horizontal plane with the mainishaft, and are journaled in the same manner in ball bearings carried by the front and rear walls of said casing.

As illustrated in Figure 6, the main shaft and all of the auxiliary shafts 18 are geared directly to one another by internmshng gears 19,'so that alternate shafts will urn in opposite directions, Supplemental criving means for the auxiliary shafts is provided as illustrated in Figure 5, the same consisting of sprockets 20 mounted on the main dr ving shaft 12 and the second auxiliary shaft 18 at opposite sides of said main shaft. said sprockets being engaged by sprocket chains 21, there being two sprockets 20 on the main shaft one arranged in alinerollers 23 against the chains 21.

The driving connection between the auxil' iar shafts 18 and the main shaft 12 as 'ust described, is such that when said main shaft is rotated by the motor 1 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, said main shaft and the intermediate one of the three auxiliary'shafts at each side of said main shaft will be rotated or turned to the left, while the other four alternating auxiliary shafts will be turned tothe right.

The main shaft and auxiliary shafts all extend through the front wall 17 of the casing 11 and their protruding ends have right hand screw threads 27 formed thereon. The main shaft 12 and the intermediate ones of the groups of three auxiliary shafts at each side of said main shaft are fitted with short couplings or cutterheads 28 having internal threads at their inner ends to engage the right hand threads 27 on said shafts, and internal threads on their outer ends for engaging left hand threads 29 on the shanks 30 of boring tools 31. Inasmuch as said shafts, which carry the short couplings 28, are de signed to turn to the left, set screws 31 are provided to engage flattened portions 32 on the ends of said shafts to prevent said couplings from screwing off of the shaft during the operation of the machine. It is obvious that-the left hand threads 29 on the shanks of the boring tools 31 will be more firmly engaged with the couplings 28 during the rotation of the shafts carrying them.

The other four auxiliary shafts, that is, the ones arranged next to the main shaft at opposite sides thereof, and at the extreme endsof the casing 11, are fitted with long couplings or cutterheads 33 internally threaded at their inner ends to engage the threads 27 on said shafts, and similarly threaded in their outer ends to be engaged by right hand threads 34 on the shanks 35 of the boring tools 36. Said boring tools 36 are similar to the boring tools 31 except that the saanks 35 of the tools 36 are made shorter than the shanks 30 of the tools 31 in order to compensate for the difference in the lengths of the couplings 33 and 28 and bring the cutting ends of all the boring tools into alinement. 1

The couplings or cutterheads 33 have transverse slots 37 arranged intermediate of their ends, and into said slots the angularly bent shanks 38 of auxiliary boring tools 39 are adapted to be inserted, the shank 38 of one of said auxiliary tools being inserted from each side and'said shanks overlapping one another in said slots 37. The auxiliary boring tools 37 are detachably secured in operative position, as shown best in Figure 3, by the inner ends of the shank 35 of the boring tools 36 which bear against them and in the operation of the machine tend to be come more firmly seated tiereon. It will be noted that as the couplings or cutterheads turn to the right there is no necessity for using set screws thereon as are employed on the short cutterheads 28.

The auxiliary cutters or tools 39 preferably have their front or cutting ends arranged in line with the cutting points of the tools 31 and 36, and said auxiliary tools are spaced equal distances between the adjacent tools 31 and 36. Said auxiliary tools are designed to be used when cutting soft coal and when used will cut away the portions of the wall of coal between the holes-made by the tools 31 and 36. When the machine is used for cutting hard coal, the auxiliary cutters may be removed, and the spaces between the holes formed in the wall of coal by the tools 31 and 36 may be subsequently cut away by the next operation of the machine.

As best shown in Figure 4, eachcf the tools 31 and 36 has two beveled cutting points 4-0 which are set for left hand and right hand cutting, respectively. The auxiliary tools 39, being designed to be'carried only bythe shafts which turnto the right, have beveled cutting ends tlarranged for right hand cutting. t The machineis moved forwardtoward a wall of coal as the cutting progresses on wheels 42 mounted on the ends of the easing 11. To facilitate such movement ,ofthe machine, a ehainorcable 13isattached at 44; to the handlebar 5 and passed around a pulley a5 attached to a stake 46 driven in the floor of the compartment near the wall in which the kerf is being ,cut, said chain extending from said pulley back to the handle bar near one of the handles 6 so that it may be grasped by the operator and periodically hauled in-for advancing the machine. It will be understood that this propelling means may be employed interchangably with or in addition to the pushing by the operator on the handles 6 or bar 5.;

Referring to Figures 9, 1O and-11, the ma chine illustrated therein is designed to have its boring tools actuated by hand-power and a smaller number of boring tools are accordingly employed. The frame 50 and casing 51 of this modified form of machine are constructed substantially as already described in connection with the form,-illustrated in .Figures 1 to 8, inclusive, except that they are made narrower to accommo- 5 he understood chains 21 of Figure 5.

date four auxiliary shafts 52 instead of the six auxiliary shafts shown in Figure 1. The main shaft 53 of the hand-power machine is connected at 54 ton driving shaft 55 carrying a beveled pinion 56 which meshes with a horizontal beveled gear 57 mounted on a vertical shaft 58 journaled in a cross bar 59 of the frame 50. A hand crank 60 is secured to the upper end of the shaft 58 and when said cranlr is turned in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure '9, the main shaft 53 will turned to the right. Said main shaft is directly geared to the two auxiliary shafts 52 at opposite sides thereof by intermeshing gears (Bl, Figure 11, which are similar to the gears 19 of Figure 6 The'main shaft 53 and auxiliary shafts at the ends of the casing 51 are also con nected by sprocket chains 62 similar to the These driving connections are such that the end auxiliary shafts will berotated in the same direction as the main shaft 53, that is, to the right while the other two auxiliary shafts which are arranged between the main shaft and auxiliary shafts, will be rotated to the l it. The main and end auxiliary shafts are fitted w "h long couplings or cutterheads 63 similar to the cutter heads 33 already described, and said couplings or heads are adapted to carry boring tools 6% and 65 similar to the boring tools and 39 nreviously described. The intermediate auxiliary shafts are fitted with short couplings 56 similar to the couplings 38 hereinhef e described, and aid short couplings ca ry boring tools 67 similar to the tools 31 previously described. It will. that the boring tools '65, Figp ure i ray be detached when the machine is used for cutting hard coal, and that said iriary tools 65 are used when cutting soft aur coal. The frame 50 is provided with a 68 similar to the handle bar 5 and having looped handles 69 handle bar of Figure 1 like the handles 6.

with the foot pieces 7 Figure 1.

Said frame 50 may also I be provided with foot pieces 70, for the same purpose as already described in connection The oasing 51 is supported on wheels 71 in the same manner as the casing 11, Figure 1, is supported on the wheels 4C2.

Iclaim:

1. In a mining machine, the combination with a casing, of a main shaft journaled therein,- auxiliary shafts arranged at opposite sides of said main shaft, gears on said shafts arranged in the casing and intermeshing with one another, whereby the rotation of'the main shaft will cause the rotation of the auxiliary shafts alternately in opposite directions, a pair of sprockets on the main shaft within the casing, auxiliary shafts which are arrangedsecond from the main shaft at each side thereof, sprocket chain's passed over said sprockets to aid in driving the auxiliary shafts, boring tools carried by said connected to the main shaft for rotating the same and the auxiliary shafts through said gears, sprockets and chains. 2. In a mining machine, a movable casing covering a main shaft extending longitudinally through said casing, aplurality of shafts arranged in even numbers upon each side of said main shaft and in parallelism with the latter within said casing, all of said shafts projecting at their forward ends beyond said casing, intermeshing gears on all of said shafts disposed within said casing, sprocket wheels on and on certain of the other shafts and said wheels disposed Within said casing, sprocket chains passing over the sproc acts of said main and other shafts, and a motor disposed rearwardly beyond said casing and opera tively connected with said main shaft.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

NICOLA PEDULLA.

shafts, and means said main shaft a;

sprockets on the I 

